U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,015 discloses a microscope having an illumination device separate from the microscope stand. The illumination device is connected to the microscope via a light-guiding cable. The result of the physical separation between the microscope stand and the illumination device is that the heat generated by the illumination device is decoupled from the microscope stand. An automated microscope is not disclosed.
German Unexamined Application DE 198 39 777 discloses an electric microscope. The electric microscope comprises a data input unit for inputting objective data, an objective data memory, a control circuit, a revolving nosepiece, a nosepiece switcher, a nosepiece drive motor, a nosepiece driver circuit, a rotational position sensor for sensing the rotational position of the nosepiece, a coder for continuously sensing the rotational position of the nosepiece, and other components necessary for a conventional microscope. It is evident from the disclosure of DE 198 39 777 that all the aforementioned elements are arranged directly on or in the microscope stand. The problem of excessive heat generation by the large number of electronic elements in or directly on the stand was not acknowledged or addressed.